Gennady Golovkin is the natural heir to Floyd Mayweather's throne

With Floyd Mayweather having one fight remaining on his showtime contract and expressing his desire to retire after his proposed bout in September, there will be a hole left to fill as the number one pound for pound fighter on the planet.

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The question is who can take that position? The present elite fighters in the glamour divisions are Wladimir Klitschko (heavyweight), Andre Ward and Carl Froch (super-middleweight), Sergey Kovalev (light-heavyweight) and Miguel Cotto (middleweight). Although there are many more these fighters are rated as being number one in their weight class.

Manny Pacquiao will continue to be up there if he continues to fight and win, Adonis Stevenson is also highly regarded although he only holds the WBC light-heavyweight crown compared to Kovalev's IBF, WBO and WBA super titles.

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Meanwhile Saul Alvarez has bounced back from the Mayweather loss and won two in a row and is in action this Saturday against James Kirkland; the Mexican is still young enough to establish himself into the pound for pound mix. Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman also look exciting prospects but Thurman has yet to come up against a fully fledged elite welterweight and Broner has not fought for a world title since the Maidana loss in 2013.

The true candidate

Amir Khan is looking to make some noise in the 147 pound division and Kell Brook holds the IBF title and is scheduled for big fights in his reign as champion. Then we have Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin, an absolute monster of a puncher.

Born in Kazakhstan, the IBO and WBA super Middleweight champion had an unbelievable amateur record of 345-5. The professional ranks have also served well as Triple G is currently 32-0, boasting 29 knock-outs. The beast from the east is on a 19 fight KO streak which has seen him stop world-rated fighters such as Matthew Macklin, Daniel Geale and most recently Martin Murray.

Utilising a come forward style with incredibly fast footwork, Golovkin cuts down the ring exceptionally in order to keep his opponent in one place. The 33-year-old describes himself as a Mexican style fighter and is pure entertainment for all those who watch him.

Good backing

The backing of HBO television will help create global publicity for GGG and with the possibility of facing Miguel Cotto in the near future a test will be offered to see just how good the powerhouse is. The middleweight champion is not regarded as number one in his division due to Cotto having the WBC crown but if Golovkin is able to get past Willie Monroe Jr this month and the four-weight champion Cotto is able to beat Daniel Geale in June there's no reason why a fight between the two can't be made.

One of the most active champions today. Golovkin will already be competing in his second fight of the year this month when he takes on the slick southpaw Monroe Jr. There have been suggestions of a move up to super middleweight where the California resident has the likes of Andre Ward and Carl Froch to compete with.

Just how good is he?

There are many questions to be asked of just how good Golovkin is but, like true champions, he appears willing to fight anyone. Scheduled bouts with both Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Andy Lee (current WBO champion) fell through last year but GGG has expressed desire in wanting to unify the middleweight division.

A fresh faced killer, the undefeated man appears to have a solid chin to go with his dynamite fists, and the fact that he has won all of his bouts with the same style and with relative ease makes fans wonder what different skills he has yet to showcase.

The future of boxing may not be bleak when Mayweather leaves the sport, but the changing of the guard couldn't be more different as the defensive specialist could be saying farewell at the end of the year, in his place could be the knock-out king Gennady Golovkin.

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